~from the Tom’s Doubts cartoon by Saji.
Category: Recommended
yep, I recommend this link, article or whatever it is
Book Briefs: “Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job” by Hugh Ross
Dr. Hugh Ross, well known old-earth creationist and president of Reasons to Believe, has given us a gem of a book with Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job (Baker Books, 2011). The subtitle of the book explains its purpose: “How the oldest book in the Bible answers today’s scientific questions.”
Dr. Ross is as well versed in the creation debate today as anyone, and he has devoted time and effort in combating godless, Darwinian evolution and countering the arguments of new atheists. With this book, he unpacks the myriad of ways the book of Job speaks to the question of origins and the meaning of life on earth.
Job 38 describes God’s creative activity directly, and Ross focuses in on this chapter. Yet he also discusses whether leviathan was a dinosaur, and what Job has to say about the extent of the Flood. Suffering, death, unique attributes of humans, the soulish nature of animals, the order of creation–these topics and more are covered.
As Ross writes, he blends scientific insight (like just why Hurricanes are so beneficial to the climate of Earth), personal anecdotes and devotional thoughts from the book of Job in a fascinating and well-written way. The book is not so much an extended defense of Ross’s scientific positions, but a manual filled with interesting tidbits that will get you thinking and encourage you to keep studying, and to mine the book of Job for treasures yourself.
You can pick up a copy of Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job at the following online retailers: ChristianBook.com, Amazon.com, or direct from Reasons to Believe, or Baker Books.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by Reasons to Believe. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.
About Book Briefs: With limited time available to give every book sent my way a full review, I’ll be offering short-form book reviews called Book Briefs. Book Briefs are book notes, or my impression and informed evaluation of a book, but they stop short of being a full book review.
The Gospel Grid: Living the Gospel-Centered Life
Last night we just started going through The Gospel-Centered Life by Bob Thune and Will Walker (New Growth Press & World Harvest Mission, 2011) in the college-aged small group at our church. I was struck once again at the beautiful way this curriculum describes living the Gospel-Centered Life.
I’m going to provide an excerpt here from the first lesson (the entire first lesson is available as a sample .pdf), along with the graphic you see to the right. How are we doing on making the Gospel grow in significance to us? I find these thoughts both liberating and challenging.
Many Christians live with a truncated view of the gospel. We see the gospel as the “door,” the way in, the entrance point into God’s kingdom. But the gospel is so much more! It is not just the door, but the path we are to walk every day of the Christian life. It is not just the means of our salvation, but the means of our transformation. It is not simply deliverance from sin’s penalty, but release from sin’s power. The gospel is what makes us right with God (justification) and it is also what frees us to delight in God (sanctification). The gospel changes everything!
The following model [see image above] has been helpful to many people in thinking about the gospel and its implications. This diagram does not say everything that could be said about the gospel, but it does serve as a helpful visual illustration of how the gospel works.
The starting point of the Christian life (conversion) comes when I first become aware of the gap between God’s holiness and my sinfulness. When I am converted, I trust and hope in Jesus, who has done what I could never do: He has bridged the gap between my sinfulness and God’s holiness. He has taken God’s holy wrath toward my sin upon himself.
At the point of conversion, however, I have a very limited view of God’s holiness and of my sin. The more I grow in my Christian life, the more I grow in my awareness of God’s holiness and of my flesh and sinfulness. As I read the Bible, experience the Holy Spirit’s conviction, and live in community with other people, the extent of God’s greatness and the extent of my sin become increasingly clear and vivid. It is not that God is becoming more holy or that I am becoming more sinful. But my awareness of both is growing. I am increasingly seeing God as He actually is (Isa. 55:8–9) and myself as I actually am (Jer. 17:9–10).
As my understanding of my sin and of God’s holiness grows, something else also grows: my appreciation and love for Jesus. His mediation, His sacrifice, His righteousness, and His gracious work on my behalf become increasingly sweet and powerful to me. The cross looms larger and more central in my life as I rejoice in the Savior who died upon it.
–Excerpted from the sample copy of Lesson One from The Gospel Centered Life.
Learn more about The Gospel Centered Life at World Harvest Mission’s product detail page. You can purchase a the curriculum at the links below.
Leader’s Guide: Westminster Bookstore, ChristianBook.com, Amazon.com, or direct from World Harvest Mission or New Growth Press.
Participant’s Guide: Westminster Bookstore, ChristianBook.com, Amazon.com, or direct from World Harvest Mission or New Growth Press.
Desiring God 2011 Conference Wrap Up
The Desiring God National Conference was this past weekend, I wanted to provide the links to the audio/video from the conference for my readers. It looks like a worthy use of your time to be encouraged and challenged about global missions.
Session 1
The Global God Who Gives the Great Commission
Louie Giglio
Session 2
The Glory of God, the Lostness of Man, and the Gospel of Christ
David Platt
Session 3
Courage, Christ, and Finishing the Mission
Michael Ramsden
Session 4
From Every Land to Every Land: The Internationalization of Missions — Its Potential and the Price
Michael Oh
Session 5
Speaker Panel: David Platt, Michael Ramsden, Michael Oh, Ed Stetzer, John Piper
David Mathis
Session 6
The Church, The Neighborhood, and the Nations
Ed Stetzer
Session 7
Let the Peoples Praise You, O God, Let All the Peoples Praise You!
John Piper
Speaker Interview
Greg Livingstone, David Sitton
John Piper
Fairhaven Baptist and Spanking… on CNN
Here’s most of the segment that was aired tonight on CNN. I’ll just share it here, and hope to discuss this more later. I think it’s clear CNN is being more than fair in their coverage, but the question is whether the truth is coming out or not.
UPDATE: The video was taken down by CNN, but here is a link to the transcript.
UPDATE 2: I found the video again, under a new name and with a different link. So I’ve embedded it again.